Make exploiting unnecessary for many who feel it is...in one step...

Aashenfox · Mar 5, 2018

I used to play the mobile hot wheels game, it's great, but I got bored of it due to usual pay walls, etc.

Why am I talking about Hot Wheels? Because it had an interesting mechanic, whereby you weren't heavily punished for being a casual. If you logged in more than 24 hours after the last login, you got double 'free crystal' rewards, triple for not logging in for a week or something like that.

Surely something like that could be added to Elite, whereby your hours played per week affects an arbitrary bonus to everything from mission payouts to rank gains...if you play less than 3 hours a week you get max bonus, if you play more than 20 hours a week, you get no bonus. It should still be balanced so that those who play more, get more, but it would also be more rewarding for those who play infrequently and make them feel like they are making better progress.

Just a thought, I'm not bothered honestly, either way, I'm in the 20 hours a week bracket myself (gaming overall, not just elite) but for those with limited time, seems like a possible helping hand. It wouldn't change elite being a marathon of a game, but would at least help people feel like they are getting some empathy from the game, which otherwise isn't going to let them get anywhere in 10 years, playing only three hours a week

CMDR Pugwash · Mar 5, 2018

Hot wheels?

Aashenfox · Mar 5, 2018

Yup, you got it.

Great mobile game until you hit the last levels (cars) and the paywall.

Conch · Mar 5, 2018

people should be rewarded for playing the game, not being rewarded for not playing the game..

jimmychoosshoes · Mar 5, 2018

or alternatively just make *all* missions, exploration data, BH bounties wortha decent amount of credits. That way you can play the game anyway you like - like to trade? Go ahead! make those spacebucks! Fancy BHing? Sure thing! Mining your thang? Go for it!

Alternatively nerf the goldrushes and they will simply happen again and again in a sad state of whack-a-mole. Look at the reason WHY the gold rushes happen and not simply how to plug them. Of course, some people simply want billions and would look for a goldrush anyway - that again is their play.

Surprised Brony · Mar 5, 2018

Reminds me of the thing in ESO where each day gave you a multiplier on your XP earned up to a set amount. Stacked for 12 days. The enlightened buff. Good stuff. Crap, that rhymed.

Anyway, something similar for Elite could only be beneficial for people with less time. I support it.

Aashenfox · Mar 5, 2018

Conch said:
people should be rewarded for playing the game, not being rewarded for not playing the game..

That's why I said that the bonus should still be skewed so that people playing more hours have more earning potential.

Think of it like this...

Person A plays 20 hours a week, makes average 20m an hour. 400m per week. Person B plays 3 hours a week, does not play as effectively as person A (because practice makes perfect), so makes 12m an hour on average. You can buff person B's payout 50% and not give them anything like the earning power of person A. Person B WITH bonus, is making 18m multipled by 3 hours a week (54m), still 1/9th of what person A is earning.

zombieapocalypse · Mar 5, 2018

Aashenfox said:
I used to play the mobile hot wheels game, it's great, but I got bored of it due to usual pay walls, etc.

Why am I talking about Hot Wheels? Because it had an interesting mechanic, whereby you weren't heavily punished for being a casual. If you logged in more than 24 hours after the last login, you got double 'free crystal' rewards, triple for not logging in for a week or something like that.

Surely something like that could be added to Elite, whereby your hours played per week affects an arbitrary bonus to everything from mission payouts to rank gains...if you play less than 3 hours a week you get max bonus, if you play more than 20 hours a week, you get no bonus. It should still be balanced so that those who play more, get more, but it would also be more rewarding for those who play infrequently and make them feel like they are making better progress.

Just a thought, I'm not bothered honestly, either way, I'm in the 20 hours a week bracket myself (gaming overall, not just elite) but for those with limited time, seems like a possible helping hand. It wouldn't change elite being a marathon of a game, but would at least help people feel like they are getting some empathy from the game, which otherwise isn't going to let them get anywhere in 10 years, playing only three hours a week

No thanks. These are the kind of crass and cynical tactics used in free-to-play (cough pay-to-win) mobile games designed to get people addicted and hopefully spending real money on microtransactions.

Aashenfox · Mar 5, 2018

zombieapocalypse said:
No thanks. These are the kind of crass and cynical tactics used in free-to-play (cough pay-to-win) mobile games designed to get people addicted and hopefully spending real money on microtransactions.

I don't mean to be facetious, but I don't see why this reminding you of a freemium game (hardly surprising, since the idea is lifted straight from one), invalidates it as a mechanic to make exploiting less necessary. Also, there's no need to thank me, like I say it doesn't change anything for me, whether you like it or not as an idea, I'm firmly in the 'no bonus for you!' camp anyway.

Navigare Necesse Est · Mar 5, 2018

Aashenfox said:
I don't mean to be facetious, but I don't see why this reminding you of a freemium game (hardly surprising, since the idea is lifted straight from one), invalidates it as a mechanic to make exploiting less necessary. Also, there's no need to thank me, like I say it doesn't change anything for me, whether you like it or not as an idea, I'm firmly in the 'no bonus for you!' camp anyway.

Because some would like to play this like a SP game in their own time. It won't happen, though.

Lily from anim.o.v.e · Mar 5, 2018

Aashenfox said:
That's why I said that the bonus should still be skewed so that people playing more hours have more earning potential.

Think of it like this...

Person A plays 20 hours a week, makes average 20m an hour. 400m per week. Person B plays 3 hours a week, does not play as effectively as person A (because practice makes perfect), so makes 12m an hour on average. You can buff person B's payout 50% and not give them anything like the earning power of person A. Person B WITH bonus, is making 18m multipled by 3 hours a week (54m), still 1/9th of what person A is earning.

No, because this proposal alread shows that currently playing the game itself isn't rewarding. So theres that first hand issue at all that needs to be solved.

Pville_Piper · Mar 5, 2018

Let's just cut to the chase... Why don't we make everything free?

Space Dandy · Mar 5, 2018

Pville_Piper said:
Let's just cut to the chase... Why don't we make everything free?

No one is asking for free stuff just some don't like having a second job on minimum wage to pay off their mortgaged ~~house~~ err I mean ship, dunno it's like some people play games to get away from the grind of daily life...go figure!

Shinji Ikari · Mar 5, 2018

ED is a game that naturally needs a lot of time. People should be aware of this when buying the game. If they don't have much time then some other games that demand much less time would suit them.

Bomba Luigi · Mar 5, 2018

Pville_Piper said:
Let's just cut to the chase... Why don't we make everything free?

I know you jest but that might actually not be a bad Idea. I got the feeling the crux of the matter here is that people don't want money to be a progression system, that they just want to use what they want whenever they want and do what they want whenever they want (and no I'm not saying thats the case for everbody).

And well... why not? I think No mans sky has a mode where nothing costs money and some other stuff, could be a mode for elite. No cross save files with other modes of course and no bgs affect but people could just do whatever it is they want to do there. And even people who are not actually interesstet in such a mode could have use for it, just buying and engineering a ship for example to test quickly for pvp or something before spending the time to get the mats and whatnot.

Stealthie · Mar 5, 2018

Wait... so, effectively, the OP wants to encourage people to not play the game? [wacky]

Might sound a little harsh but I don't think there should be any extra assistance for people who play the game less.
If I play for 100 hours I expect to be proportionally better-off than somebody who only plays for 10 hours.

Sorry, but that's how I feel.

Verdigris · Mar 5, 2018

Not sure if I agree with your suggestion or not. Still letting it stew in my mind. But I wanted to applaud you for coming with a reasoned idea and discussing it, rather than the gripes we see so often on the forum. Rep'd.

Entilzar · Mar 5, 2018

Kurama 1100 said:
ED is a game that naturally needs a lot of time. People should be aware of this when buying the game. If they don't have much time then some other games that demand much less time would suit them.

I Disagree with you here, I have lots of time on my hands and play games for 8-10 hours a day, I play games to give me something to do due to my disability making other things impossible.

however I don't feel like its much fun when I get 1million credits in profit from a 20 minute trade run( yes I know your gonna say you need to find a better trade route or that's awesome profit I wish I could make that) when I know that I can get 30 million in 20 minutes doing certain mission. don't get me wrong I don't find doing those mission particularly fun either, as there all grinds in one way or another but if I wanna get a better ship with good internals I need money so where do I spend my 20 minutes?

and this is why ill never get elite in trading cause its just not as good as missioning, we need more incentive in game to do all aspects of all parts of the game, or people will just get pulled to the new cash cow to get there credits faster, and having or not having time on ones hands shouldn't be a factor of playing or buying a game

Commander Makro · Mar 5, 2018

Kurama 1100 said:
ED is a game that naturally needs a lot of time. People should be aware of this when buying the game. If they don't have much time then some other games that demand much less time would suit them.

I fundamentally disagree with your post. I started with Elite in 1984 on a BBC Micro. I made it all the way to Elite without cheating, without exploits but with lots of fun and imagination (wireframes, guys). Now I'm older, I don't have the time to invest in gaming as I used to. My work takes up much of my time, as do my wife and children. Nevertheless, I love Elite. This incarnation is fantastic, but the grind is abominable. Truthfully? I'd love to get onboard with the exploits and make the 100 millions of credits an hour. By the time I hear about them they're already nerfed. Then I could get on and play the game as I want to play it, and enjoy the non-linear gameplay and the rich, interesting universe it presents. But no. Grind, grind, grind.

Who the heck are you to suggest that this isn't a game for me?

Dbrn47 · Mar 5, 2018

I disagree, if you can't play, you can't play. Not a huge fan of 'catch up' mechanics, especially when there isn't any compelling reason for anyone to 'catch up'.